Business System Analysis

Analysts are frequently asked to develop a testing plan. Describe some of the elements of this plan. What input would users have to this plan? What makes testing successful?

Solution Preview

The goal of testing plan is to establish the list of tasks that, if performed, will identify all of the requirements that have not been met in the software. The main work product is the test plan. There are many standards that can be used for developing test plans. The following table shows the outline of a typical software test plan, adapted from IEEE 829, the most common standard for software test plans.

* Purpose
A description of the purpose of the application under test.

* Features to be tested
A list of the features in the software that will be tested. It is a catalog of all of the test cases (including a test case number and title) that will be conducted, as well as all of the base states.

* Features not to be tested
A list of any areas of the software that will be excluded from the test, as well as any test cases that were written but will not be run.

* Approach
A description of the strategies that will be used to perform the test.